Which direction are the Yankees headed in for the second half?

If there’s an Aaron Boone-ism from his six-plus year tenure as manager guaranteed to push fans’ buttons, it’s the one he dropped after the Yankees closed out the season’s de facto first half Sunday in Baltimore.

“It’s all right there in front of us,” Boone said following arguably the worst loss of the season, a 6-5 defeat to the Orioles that occurred when an iffy Clay Holmes teamed with Anthony Volpe and Alex Verdugo, both of whom had defensive miscues, to blow the 5-3 lead Ben Rice provided in the top of the ninth with a three-run homer that electrified the Yankees’ dugout.

What exactly the “it” is in front of the Yankees in the second half, of course, is the question (Boone, obviously, means it in the most positive sense, an appropriate public expression of belief in his players that they have the games left, and the talent, to pull themselves out of whatever run they’re in).

But as the second half starts Friday night, is “it” a return to the caliber of baseball Boone’s team played the first two-plus months of the season when, after a victory June 14 in Boston, it was a Major League-best 50-22?

Or, is the “it” the continuation of the horrendous 8-18 stretch entering the break?

“You really could see it going either way,” one rival AL executive said over the All-Star break.

Even with Sunday’s heartbreak, there were more positives than not from the Orioles series, starting with the rotation.

First Gerrit Cole on Friday and then Luis Gil on Saturday pitched well in victories, a trending-up development given how poorly most of the rotation had pitched during the downturn.

The roller coaster that was the first 98 games has the Yankees only one game behind the Orioles, who entered the season heavy favorites to repeat as American League East champions after winning the division at 101-61 – 19 games clear of the Yankees – in 2023. So far, the Yankees are 4-6 against the Orioles, with one series left, Sept. 24-26 at Yankee Stadium.

The Orioles have shown themselves to be better – their lineup top to bottom certainly is deeper – but not dramatically so.

By the time of that late September meeting, both teams will have different looks, though how drastic isn’t yet clear.

In the coming weeks, the Yankees expect to get Giancarlo Stanton back from a hamstring strain, as well as righty reliever Scott Effross, a 2022 trade deadline acquisition who has been beset by injuries.

Stanton, who had 18 homers when he went down with the injury, significantly lengthens the lineup and it’s not a complete coincidence the Yankees’ nosedive overlapped with the DH’s IL stint.

“You’re still dealing with Soto and Judge, and obviously that’s the best one-two punch [in the game],” one NL talent evaluator assigned to the Yankees said before the break. “But Stanton, streaky as he is, you’ve got to account for him. Even if he’s in an 0-for-30, as a pitcher you know one mistake can go 500 feet. He scares you, especially hitting behind the other two. No one else in that lineup really scares you.”

Because of the uncertainly surrounding Stanton – a result of his history with lower body injuries – and the uncertainty at first base with Anthony Rizzo slated to miss at least another month with a fractured arm, as well as determining whether veteran DJ LeMahieu is on his last legs, the Yankees are in the market for a bat or two before the trade deadline.

They’re also, even with Effross’ imminent return, looking for a bullpen upgrade or two.

And adding starting pitching depth can never be ruled out.

Always reticent to move top prospects – owner Hal Steinbrenner has become increasingly protective of prospects over the years – the Yankees nonetheless have enough in their system to pull off pretty much any kind of deal. It will, as always, come down to what they’re willing to give up.

But the Orioles, under new ownership, have a better system and the financial backbone to add. The industry expectation is they will be aggressive before the July 30 deadline.

While the AL isn’t quite a two-team race, collectively the league is dreck – and the NL isn’t far behind in that regard – which alone should motivate the Yankees to be aggressive, too.

The AL is there for the taking.

All right there in front of them.